MP3 Masala: Ray LaMontagne Covers Gnarls Barkley

By now you've heard "Crazy," the tasty cut from Cee-Lo/Danger Mouse project Gnarls Barkley.  And you know it's damn good.  Perhaps you've also heard Ray LaMontagne, man with guitar, a soulful vocalist in his own right. 

Now peep this: reader Sarah turns us on to Ray's passionate, stripped take on the Gnarls track, making waves in the UK.  From what I can hear, Ray's cover is going to win him a legion of new fans.   Take a listen.

MP3 Masala: Ray LaMontagne - "Crazy"
MP3 Masala: Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"

Comments

[jonboy]

Nice score, cool track! Dude has a great voice.

[annie]

i just searched for this on google and came across this site....i think the covers fucking brilliant. i think it will open up his music to many new fans on a broader basis.
x

[chris]

omfg....amazing....love it....i got told about this my annie....and well i think both these versions are awesome=]

loveitlots<3xx

[Rosie]

Please could somebody get me the tabs to the cover for guitar if they come across it? thanks ppl xx

[Rosie]

Please could somebody get me the tabs to the cover for guitar if they come across it? thanks ppl xx

[liam]

good lord
such a better version
its my most played on my ipod and ive only had the song 3 days
thanks so much for unearthing it
heard it on jonothon ross and came looking and found it
thanks again
liam x

[iain maxwell]

hi i love both songs.. but i cant find a guitar tab for the ray cover! if someone could find it could they plzplzplz send me it! thnx very much!

[clackton mcgibbon]

find the ray tab at his ezboard discussion site, just google it.

miles better than the original, like wearing a shoulder hat

[Rosie 2]

please please please somebody get the tabs for rays version! its amazing

[LaBoheme]

Stunning, just stunning! been searching for this for a while and so glad I found it here. It's amazing how a real musician can turn a good song into a GREAT song!

[donal]

i found a tab on 911 tabs i think. its pretty good but doesnt include the trills he does at the start and stufff just the basic chords

[jim]

this is fantastic

[jds]

the chords are: Cm, Eb, Ab, G7
the "think twice" bit is: Cm, Ab, Eb, G7
now everyone can play it
so easy - but so good

[HW]

Gnarls is way too new of a band/collaboration for artists to be covering their songs already. Usually covers are done after the songs been out for quite some time (years). GB's first (and only) album came out in May. Can’t say that I love this version....at all. I know I'm the minority here but dang, he should probably stick to covering John Mayer and Ben Harper tunes....

[BMurr]

Doesn't sound too hot. The aspect of the Gnarls version that appealed to me was the freshness of the sound. Cee-Lo is a character, and Danger Mouse is equally different..that is what makes them unique. LaMontagne, not so much. I like Ray, I've been to his concerts, but not in this fashion. It's too much of a contrast of style.

[Jesse Stack]

jds and HW what are you on about.
This is better than the original by far! it's the contrast that makes it a great cover, who wants to just hear the song in the same context as the original. he has played with his own style and inflections and it sounds a treat
Cheers
Jesse

[cmoore75]

I'm late to the party but the chords are actually Gm F Cm D7 (all barre chords except the D7) for the intro you sort of slide into the Gm and hammer on/pull off the 4 string and then back to the 5.

[AJ]

soul searching version of crazy, stunning! soothing and sexy.

[the-social-bunny]

Ah, it's confirmed. Ray LaMontagne can do no wrong. Period.

Whilst Gnarls Barkley's initial version of the song was hugely appealing and refreshingly original, I feel that Ray's version has a certain rawness to it that the original lacked. Don't get me wrong - I love both artists in equal measure, but I think I have to say that whilst both versions have their particular strengths, weaknesses and goals of interpretation, Ray's version of "Crazy" takes the prize.

And to HW, a song doesn't need to have the "age" factor to be successfully covered - it you've ever been to a Jamie Cullum concert (which are superbly AWESOME!), you'll hear him singing the likes of Justin Timberlake, The Pussycat Dolls and even Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" itself! What's more - it's great! Should a cover really be judged on the basis that it's not "old enough"?

Yeah. Didn't think so.

[Nev 76]

Just come across this site, and just have to add to comments....been listening to mr lamontagne for a while now....his may as well be the original...he has captured the true feeling and emotion of this song...to HW since when did music care about time??
This version is pure gold.

[Rage]

Here's the link for the guitar tab:

http://www.911tabs.com/link/?3808615

[poprox79]

ray's version sucks because he dumbs down the cool chord sequences of gnarls barkley's original.

for instance in the opening verse (in ray's key of Gm) the chords SHOULD be:

Gm Bb Eb Dm7 - and from this chord sequence you get a more vertical melody - and this is what Gnarls does (try it out for yourself)

but instead, Ray plays:

Gm F Cm D7

which (1) isn't nearly as interesting as the original and (2) flattens out the melody (takes all the highs out of it) which i guess he needed to do to keep it within his vocal range. *yawns*

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[Domo]

I should make this my theme song. I've been playing both versions for the past two years (thanks for the links).

In Gnarls Barkley's version, the joy of creative collaboration is being expressed...like hey, we're artists, we must be crazy...a goof, sort of...with the spaghetti western music being sampled and the lyrics referring to "so much space". He's literally singing about being in a studio and doing their shit. It is a masterful celebration of the moment of creation.

Ray's version, an interpretation, is more sorrowful and addresses the issue of mental illness. Of course, he's alone with it, he's solitary. It's just him and the sound hole and the strings. He's crazy in a "talking to yourself on the street corner" crazy, warning humanity of the coming endtimes. It's haunting and unforgetable and amps up the paranoiac aspects of the lyrics.

Both, however, are incredibly romantic in their notion of going over an edge, be it creative or mental. I think in all seriousness it is one of the best songs written for the popular market, no matter the interpretation.

PS - I just put them on a 3 song playlist with Crazy On You by Heart. Now talk about crazy romance, eh?

[talapoku]

In your opinion, what's the best movie ever created?